Whiskey Wednesday – Belle Meade Bourbon – 08-02-2017

by Jonathan Gaby on August 1, 2017

It’s always great to experience new bourbons from around the state and around the region. We are really excited about the opportunity to present a new bourbon to you for Whiskey Wednesday, August 2nd Edition.

We’re offering flights of Belle Mead Bourbon from 5-8pm and we’ll be waiving the restaurant fee for bottles of wine in the store as well as buy one get one half off glasses of wine from our wine by the glass menu.

Introducing Belle Meade Bourbon

Belle Meade bourbon is made at the Nelson’s Green Briar Distillery located in Nashville, TN. It has a an interesting history, which we’ll share with you here.

Belle Meade Bourbon was one of about 30 different labels that Charles Nelson produced in the late 1800’s. It differed from most of his other products in that it was produced in conjunction with a third party, Sperry Wade & Company of Nashville, TN. Sperry Wade & Company was formed by the Sperry and Wade families who were instrumental in making the Belle Meade Plantation a world famous horse farm. Sperry Wade & Company contracted Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery to create bourbon, rye, corn, & Tennessee whiskies bearing the Belle Meade name and soon Belle Meade Bourbon was the toast of the town. Belle Meade Bourbon became known as a great value and top quality product and was sold from 1878 until 1909 when Tennessee adopted state-wide Prohibition and production came to an end.

Nose: Maple syrup and caramel with floral fragrances and a citrus zest.

Palate: Caramel and vanilla with bold rye spice and hints of apricot.

Finish: Long, smooth finish with mellow cherry and plum notes accented by cinnamon, all without the burn found in other 90 proof bourbons.

Awards

Winner: Double Gold Medal at the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

“The Double Gold designation is awarded to the very few entries that receive Gold medal ratings by all members of the judging panel. These are among the finest products in the world.”– San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Finish: Long finish mimicking the palate with notes of toasted cedar and hints of allspice.

About the Label

The Belle Meade Bourbon label was designed to pay respect to two of the most admired studs from the Belle Meade Plantation. It is almost exactly the same as it was more than 100 years ago.

The horse depicted on the right is Bonnie Scotland, one of the founders of the Northern Dancer bloodline. Some of the descendants of this bloodline include Seabiscuit, War Admiral, Man O’ War, Secretariat, California Chrome, American Pharaoh, and Nyquist to name just a few.

The name of the stud on the left side of the label? Brown Dick. He never won a race but was famous in his own right and studded out numerous times. Brown Dick’s provocative name was also the reason why the Nelson brothers decided to make a slight alteration to the original label by removing the names of the horses.